‘25 PS so far

I have had kids play varsity sports at a SA and at civilian schools.

Both types of schools have one thing in common for its varsity types ——- an enormous commitment of time and energy for the players.

Much more so than the regular non varsity students

Practice is one major issue as far as time.

Travel to away games is another.

Injury time with trainers

A lot of time lost for home games.

Games being played when others are home on leave

That said as a varsity player in a non football sport I had one that hated to be made to go to football games.

I do wonder if there have been any studies looking at combat performance under fire and varsity sports participation at a SA?

I know the Marine Officers I worked for directly in VN in my Bn , those from the USNA , were all varsity types of one sort or another.

Let me pick one unknown Marine officer out of a slew of unknown Marine officers for a combat mission to lead——-I want the football player or other varsity type.

id just think my odds would be better

I could be wrong but it’s the way I would go if I had nothing else to go on
 
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Old Navy BGO said:
LOL -- I blame it all on my time as Ordinance Branch Officer.
Aviation Ordinancemen can be colorful, but the best guys I have ever worked with.
IYAOYAS !
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@Old Navy BGO, as the "Ordinance" Branch Officer, you should have banned the colorful language ;). Our ship's "Ordnance" Officer (weapons, bombs, ammo) would have made you blush, had you tried. :cool: But you're right, "ordies" are a colorful lot!
 
Old Navy BGO said:
LOL -- I blame it all on my time as Ordinance Branch Officer.
Aviation Ordinancemen can be colorful, but the best guys I have ever worked with.
IYAOYAS !
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I was Ordnance Officer on USS FirstShip where I first landed as a babySwo and had a very
Salty bunch of Gunners Mate Guns and Gunners Mate Missiles to lead. Very challenging bunch
but I wouldn't trade it or them for anything.
 
LT360 said:
One thing I did learn from the DS is that the varsity athletes are excused for a good chunk of PS. In fact the football players have been living somewhere else for the last two weeks. They also did not participate in the Parade.

I certainly understand the need for Navy to have a fully prepared D1 athlete so that the product they put forth is good. However how does play into the mission of the USNA to create future officers?
I am not posting to offend or create a hot topic as I work with USNA alum who played football and was an effective Naval officer post commission.
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Football was the only team that I remember getting isolated away from the rest of the Plebes during the summer and over the years have heard about a few special cases like olympic trials folks who have been pulled out for parts of the summer. In general though, there is a lot less special treatment for the other varsity sports during Plebe Summer but that does change after the end of the Summer and the regular athletic seasons begin. FWIW, I marched in all of the parades during my plebe summer but then did not march in another USNA parade until the Graduation (final) parade during my First Class year. Somehow, I ended up as a pretty capable Leader and Naval Officer in spite of it.
 
WolfPackGrunt said:
I'm not sure about the athletic funding at USNA, but if it is like other NCAA schools then the majority of the funding is derived from football and men's basketball. In regards to development of future officers, I will opine that Varsity athletics doesn't have any benefit per se over the other athletic/sports programs at USNA. Also, 'fair', IMO isn't in the military vocab, but special treatment doesn't go unnoticed by peers.
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Football pays for all other sports....
 
LT360 said:
One thing I did learn from the DS is that the varsity athletes are excused for a good chunk of PS. In fact the football players have been living somewhere else for the last two weeks. They also did not participate in the Parade.

I certainly understand the need for Navy to have a fully prepared D1 athlete so that the product they put forth is good. However how does play into the mission of the USNA to create future officers?
I am not posting to offend or create a hot topic as I work with USNA alum who played football and was an effective Naval officer post commission.
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I would be less concerned about the D1 athletes than the Chit surfers who missed most of Plebe summer. As I watched the parade on Saturday I couldn't help notice the small army of broken, limp and gimpy plebes sitting in the stands. I know some of those plebes are hurt, some, but after talking to my DS, I was amazed on the number of injuries "off time" his company had. Always same plebes...Remember those football players are not sitting by the pool sipping on frosty drinks.
 
SDpolo said:
I would be less concerned about the D1 athletes than the Chit surfers who missed most of Plebe summer. As I watched the parade on Saturday I couldn't help notice the small army of broken, limp and gimpy plebes sitting in the stands. I know some of those plebes are hurt, some, but after talking to my DS, I was amazed on the number of injuries "off time" his company had. Always same plebes...Remember those football players are not sitting by the pool sipping on frosty drinks.
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Yes, my plebe had some interesting stories of chit surfers. DS was respectful and wouldn't identify who, but indicated that they have also "gotten away with" behavior like eyerolls and having casual conversations with detailers (not sure what to think about that...). I guess the reform might help tighten up the behavior? I agree, at least the FB plebes are still in the grind in some manner.
 
Capt MJ said:
Excellent point. Use whatever mid prefers.

I email our sponsor mids on Thursdays to coordinate for the weekend and use their USNA.edu email, because they pay attention to that due to the many taskers they receive there. They may not get around to looking at personal email if they are crazy busy.

Two of our sponsor plebes are already booked for Thanksgiving with us. Their parents’ relief was palpable. Too logistically challenging or expensive to go home and then do it again in a few weeks.
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how many sponsor plebes do you take? we got to meet our plebes sponsor family this past weekend and its a match made in heaven!!! we are so happy for our plebe!!!! I wish we lived close bc I would love to be a part of that program! Thanks Capt MJ for taking good care of so many plebes and MIDN along the way!!!
 
how many sponsor plebes do you take? we got to meet our plebes sponsor family this past weekend and its a match made in heaven!!! we are so happy for our plebe!!!! I wish we lived close bc I would love to be a part of that program! Thanks Capt MJ for taking good care of so many plebes and MIDN along the way!!!
Well, we sign up for X, but almost always get some adoptees, who, for whatever reason, drift our way. We lose some too. X can vary from 3-5 per annum.
 
WolfPackGrunt said:
Yes, my plebe had some interesting stories of chit surfers. DS was respectful and wouldn't identify who, but indicated that they have also "gotten away with" behavior like eyerolls and having casual conversations with detailers (not sure what to think about that...). I guess the reform might help tighten up the behavior? I agree, at least the FB plebes are still in the grind in some manner.
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DD said the same. She tweaked her ankle on the E-course and they pulled her off the course as a precautionary measure a few minutes later. Then they kept her off the C-Course a day or two later. She was ticked. Said she was fine to continue, but wasn't allowed to. Very aware that some are "surfing", but thought others may be restricted due to protocol even though they want to participate. Probably a little of both.
 
Capt MJ said:
Another fun Thanksgiving with mids memory. I half-jokingly told our Peruvian mid that once all the cooking and eating was done on Thursday, the rest of the weekend was variations on leftovers and she was free to eat anything she wanted for any meal. My tradition is to have a big piece of warm apple pie and Turkey Hill vanilla bean ice cream on Friday morning for breakfast. As I sat and ate that, I watched our mid take me literally, and assemble a massive plate of turkey, gravy, dressing, potatoes and green beans to heat up and eat for breakfast. She got totally into the spirit of things. We cheerfully shared the maple-basted crisp turkey skin on T-Day. She was also amazed by DH heating up the waffle iron and doing shredded turkey and dressing waffles with cooked bacon, with the house cranberry sauce spooned on top in his special ritual concoction. If you’ve never done that, do try. Plenty of internet guidance.
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I’ve never met anyone who enjoyed Thanksgiving or daily leftovers more than our Peruvian quarantine mid! It’s a joy to behold!
 
LT360 said:
Discovered this little nugget in the plebe book…I hope this not new math at work View attachment 9937
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It says 76 (Total) had a military background. 24 from the Navy, 13 from the Marines and 1 from the Army. That adds up to 38. Maybe there are another 38 who may have had previous Coast Guard or Air Force experience and they simply decided not to list them. Somehow, I think not. :)
 
My guys are checked in and settling in nicely. Youngster is excited with his new things he is allowed (shopping for a tv and entertainment center for the room to share). Firstie is busy with leadership briefs to set company culture, after meeting with Dant. ‘A fresh slate’, seems to be the theme.

Both are masked up except in their rooms. Including dining together in King Hall. Both are looking forward to observing the formal plebe parade tonight, and then *ahem* “meeting” their new plebes.

Both are very, very happy. Here we gooooooo!!!
 
Memphis9489 said:
It says 76 (Total) had a military background. 24 from the Navy, 13 from the Marines and 1 from the Army. That adds up to 38. Maybe there are another 38 who may have had previous Coast Guard or Air Force experience and they simply decided not to list them. Somehow, I think not. :)
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"*This figure includes 21 who entered directly from the fleet (19 Navy, 2 USMC), and 55 from the Naval Academy Prep School (43 Navy, 11 USMC)."
 
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